The present invention relates to systems and methods to determine the extent of skin glycation, and more particularly to systems and methods to evaluate treatments based on glycation in the human skin.
Glycation is a naturally occurring interaction between sugars and proteins in the human body, the product of which includes glycated proteins. Over time, glycated proteins are chemically modified to form Advanced Glycation End-products (AGEs), which bond with normal proteins to form covalent crosslinks. This crosslinking stiffens formerly flexible or elastic tissue. For example, crosslinking contributes to the wrinkling of the skin, the hardening of arteries and the stiffening of joints. In addition, the accumulation of glycated proteins and AGEs in the skin can be indicative of or correspond to certain types of vascular disease, arthritis, complications of diabetes, cataracts, or other diseases related to aging. Accordingly, skin glycation measuring methods have been used to screen for a variety of diseases and conditions.
In one known method for measuring skin glycation, subjects undergo a tissue biopsy for subsequent chemical extraction and evaluation. In this method, the extracted skin is embedded, sectioned, specially stained, and microscopically examined for glycation crosslinking. Such an invasive method has apparent drawbacks, however, and is poorly suited for evaluation of multiple subject populations. Accordingly, there remains a need for improved systems and methods for measuring skin glycation. In addition, there remains a need for improved, low-cost systems and methods for determining the effectiveness of glycation-breaking or glycation-preventing ingredients across a wide range of skin care therapies.